SAN FRANCISCO, December 05, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi starred for Everton down the right midfield area as his club’s stuttering Premier League form continued. The Carlo Ancelotti-led side were held to a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor by a struggling Burnley side.
It was Burnley that impressed at kickoff, starting the match fantastically. Everton’s central attacking midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure was dispossessed just outside his own box.
The ball was fed to Burnley midfielder Robbie Brady, who hit a shot past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s outstretched hands and into the bottom corner. It was just the third minute.
Everton gradually grew into the game with Alex Iwobi particularly influential, finding space on the right and moving the team’s pressing forward. The ever-present Everton threat Dominic Calvert-Lewin stuck a boot to one of Iwobi’s crosses and forced a fine save from goalie Nick Pope.
The score remained unchanged despite Everton’s efforts until the stroke of half-time.
The path to their equaliser began when Brazilian midfielder Allan dispossessed Burnley’s Josh Brownhill and fed Man-of-the-Match Richarlison. The 23-year-old centre forward threaded a left-footed pass to Calvert-Lewin who netted in continuation of his excellent goalscoring form.
After the break, the keepers were responsible for keeping the scores level. Pickford and Pope made fine saves to deny Chris Wood (twice) and James Rodriguez respectively. Neither side were able to force a winner and the points had to be shared.
Everton next host Frank Lampard’s Chelsea who have become difficult to score against with Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy piling up the clean sheets on Saturday while Burnley travel to take on Arsenal at the Emirates the following day.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
